Fallidays : Ash and Misty
by Warlordess
Summary: A two-shot PoV series following a series of holidays in which Ash realizes he's fallen for his best friend, Misty. Pokeshipping fic celebrating Christmas, New Years, Valentines, and White Day!
1. Christmas : Ash

**Disclaimer** - Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants!

**Author** - Warlordess

**Notes** - I wanted to try something different so here's a little one-shot series. All contributions are roughly five hundred words. So far, my intentions are only to write about and through the holiday season (Christmas and New Years). If people respond well to the series though, I may try to find other topics to continue adding a Pokeshipping flare to.

That being said, please review!

**O**o**O**

**Title **- "Close Contact"

**Summary** - Ash's PoV. A moment between him and Misty at the Ketchum Christmas party is derailed.

**O**o**O**o**O**

"What," she asks but pauses in order to gulp down an anxious breath of oxygen that otherwise won't be dispelled, then continues, "are you doing, Ash?"

Still you lean in as if you can't hear her, but definitely not because you take pleasure in her discomfort. Oh, no, definitely not. That would be so _childish_ of you. But there's a piece of your subconscious that's drinking in the state of her cheeks blotched red, her mouth slightly agape, and her eyes darting from your face to the one hand you have stretching out purposefully in her direction.

Your reach isn't quite long enough so you _have_ to lean in, something that causes her to shrink back against the wall behind her in the semi-darkness of the Ketchum living room. The Christmas party your mom is hosting is in full swing, everyone's mingling or dancing or else taking full advantage of the refreshments table that Brock and Cilan had helped put together a few hours ago.

You too had been doing your fair share of just that until Misty'd come along and started bugging you. At first it was annoying hearing her go on about your monstrous appetite and how you were worse than any Snorlax she'd ever seen. But then you'd gotten distracted by the flush red mini-skirt she'd somehow decided was _appropriate_ for the family gathering, red fabric draped down to her mid-thigh before fluffy white frilling took over.

You look her up and down a couple of times and the sight makes you somehow hungrier so you shove another two or three of your mom's homemade cookies into your mouth with a loud, obnoxious _crunch_.

It's when you look her top to bottom that you realize her frivolousness doesn't stop at the skirt. Much like you'd expect from any of Misty's outfits, the dress features a sleeveless design, and the neckline plunges towards her chest provocatively, more white fluffy trim starting at the apex of her chest and fluttering softly down towards her bare midriff. Honestly, the only decent thing about her entire outfit is the _santa hat_. Heck, even the knee-high black boots aren't helping much!

A few years ago, you wouldn't have noticed. A few years ago, you wouldn't have _cared_. Now you have to stare in curiosity and wonder what she must be thinking. It's _mightily _cold out there, after all, what with it being the end of December.

All the noise, endless chatter and cheesy music and Pikachu and some of the other Pokemon chanting their names to the tunes blaring through the stereo, fades away and you lean in and in and…

"I asked what you're doing, Mr. Pokemon Master!" Misty reminds you, warily eyeing that hand of yours that refuses to stop its tantalizing game.

_Well, neither does she_, you scoff, thinking about the outfit again. But you clear your throat and immediately find an excuse to make physical contact.

"Uh, it's your… your hat, Myst," you tell her. She blinks and you remove the small clump of lint you happened to notice last minute hanging from the ball at the end of her festive cap. You hold it up for her to see. As you do so, the sounds and visuals of the room all filter back into existence around you, the world unchanged by the intimate yet minuscule moment you've just shared with your best friend.

"That's all it was."

You turn and walk away without another word, though the hunger isn't yet satiated.

**O**o**O**o**O**

** Notes** - The next addition to this series will be Misty's PoV of the same moment, more or less. Look forward to it!


	2. Christmas : Misty

**Disclaimer** - Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants!

**Author** - Warlordess

**Notes** - I may have lied about this fic series actually... I think, rather than it being a "one-shot series" (like **Our Best**), it's really more of a mildly interconnected two-shot series relating pivotal moments of Ash and Misty's relationship to the holiday season. So there will be two parts for each holiday, one each for Ash and Misty's PoV, but each two-shot can be read alone if you so choose. Well, I don't know; maybe I'm still wrong about that... Lol.

Anyway, thanks for the few reviews I received last time! Please take this addition to the series as my response! I have already written both PoV's for New Years Eve as well but may not post them until after Christmas. We'll see... Tell me what you think of this one, okay?

**O**o**O**

**Title **- "Low-Hanging Hurts"

**Summary** - Misty's PoV. A moment between she and Ash at the Ketchum Christmas party is derailed. A little more meat on this bone due to Misty's overemotional investment.

**O**o**O**o**O**

Everything makes you angry. Everything makes you _hurt_.

You're ten when you tell your sisters you want to be a gym leader too and they laugh at your foolishness and ire. You're eleven when you realize you have a crush on the most irritatingly dense boy in the world (who just so happens to also be heroic, kind to basically anyone but _you_, and your best friend despite that). You're twelve when you question your self-proclaimed title as that boy's friend for the first (and certainly not _only _or _last_) time. You're thirteen when your sisters tell you they _need _you back home right now, no matter what it is you're doing or how much fun you're having. You're fourteen when you acknowledge that you don't mind this life you're now a part of in Cerulean, though you miss your past life just as much. You're fifteen when you realize this _crush_ you've harbored for a few years now is not going away in your best friend's absence and that it has, in fact, only grown stronger.

You're sixteen, fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, _eleven_ _years old_ when you fall in love for the first time only to be severely disappointed in the results.

Everything makes you angry.

The way your sisters have it so easy while you struggle to come to terms with individuality, the way Ash Ketchum flaunts his stupid Pokemon and Pokedex and all the friends he's made since he left you behind three years ago, the way he talks so kindly of them and you're left to wonder if he ever spoke in such tones of you as well; the way you're sure, you _know_,that he has if meeting May and Max in Hoenn was any indication… The way you know your anger is fabricated from the hurt that lies underneath.

And oh, how everything makes you _hurt_.

Or so it _did_ up until that one blissful, blinding moment of sheer hope when he leaned in teasingly at the Ketchum Christmas party and you thought to yourself how _this _was it, the moment you've been - most unfortunately - waiting for, the defining moment in which he'd finally realize, finally come to see, finally reciprocate…

And then he holds that stupid ball of lint up between the two of you and the shining, glorious moment is over in a flash. And you're severely disappointed, angry, and _hurt_.

Your nerves sizzle with the heat of close contact, your teal eyes bleeding unshed tears of frustration. All this time you haven't minded waiting, you really haven't, because you knew _almost three entire years ago _what he felt for you except that he was too young and childish to see it for himself. _Everyone_ who knew him _knew_ what he felt.

If only that was enough to ease your broken heart; to stop the anger and the hurt.

You're only able to hold yourself up by leaning most of your weight against the wall behind you as your ignorant best friend walks away to get another plate of food from the refreshment table that was set up earlier that evening. He's running faster than you expected he would. He's doing his utmost best to escape while he has the opportunity. It's odd but… that somehow lessens the aggression and turmoil coiling within you.

Then you look up towards the ceiling and take in the fateful piece of mistletoe strung there by some clod high on holiday spirit and you think how wasted it is.

It makes you angry. It makes you hurt.

Wash, rinse, and repeat…

But perhaps change will come with the next spin of the cycle.

**O**o**O**o**O**

**Notes** - Well, that's that. The next addition with be Misty's PoV of New Years Eve, and boy, is it gonna be _fun_. At least she'll finally receive some better closure than she has in canon.


	3. New Years Eve : Misty

**Disclaimer** - Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants!

**Author** - Warlordess

**Notes** - Somebody forgot they had fics to post. Whoops! Sorry about that! Um, so here's the first part of the New Years Eve two-shot. We're starting with Misty's PoV this time around; don't ask me why 'cause I have no idea. Lol. I will post Ash's side sometime tomorrow, maybe, if I receive reviews. Please enjoy.

**O**o**O**

**Title **- "Countdown"

**Summary** - Misty's PoV. Her interpretation of events at Professor Oak's New Years Eve party.

**O**o**O**o**O**

The good - awful? - thing about the _holiday season_ is that each one falls right into a line. First there comes Thanksgiving - dry turkey meat, fake smiles, bad jokes, good intentions - followed by Christmas - cheesy music, the dating game if one happens to be so lucky, dodging mistletoe, and that frustrating eyesore that is the color coordination - and then, finally, New Years - the countdown, bitter-tasting alcohol, late night followed by early morning, banging on pots and pans as the ball drops, then over in a flash.

It's even darker here at Professor Oak's lab than it was back at the Ketchum home only six days ago. But you don't need the light to know that Ash Ketchum - egotistical, dense, wanna-be Master extraordinaire - is standing less than a foot to your right.

You're still quite frustrated with him for his shot at you the other day, teasing you with that tentative hand when all he wanted to do was remove that stupid bit of lint from your outfit. _Nevermind _the fact that he hadn't been looking at your hat up until the very last moment or anything but…

But you stop right there, silently fuming with your arms crossed and brow furrowed, pretending the cold doesn't bother you in your summer jacket. Technically Kanto's weather patterns aren't all that severe but that doesn't make your summer-friendly attire the _right_ choice for the winter season.

Suddenly, something is clicking into place. Well honestly, you _did _already know how he felt… but remembering his slow movements, his instantaneous defense and excuse, his escape…

Maybe, just maybe, you aren't the only one of the two of you who knows anymore.

But do you risk asking? Do you risk receiving the wrong answer? Do you risk knowing that all the time you've waited, more patient than you could realistically hope to bear, is for nought?

The lab is completely dark now save for the leftover strings of Christmas lights winding around the windowsills. The entire lot of friends and family cover the room, a couple of them even forced to stand huddled together on the stairs, as all of them take in the sight of the massive LED-lit, Masterball-shaped sphere dominating the nine high-definition flat-screen televisions attached to the back wall of Professor Oak's workstation.

A faceless newscaster is reporting on sight as a million citizens pay witness to the event, but you can't even distinguish the words anymore.

You blink bemusedly down at the half-empty glass of wine Mrs. Ketchum allowed you to have and wonder if you're quite honestly that weak of a drinker, though you know just the same that there's far more affecting your judgement and cognition than a few ounces of alcoholic content.

The moment is here before you're ready. The countdown starts on-screen but carries across every friend and family member in the room.

Ten!

Your nerves are worked up into a frenzy and you feel your brain scrambling for another excuse to back out. _You're wrong, you don't know for certain, why would you risk this?_

Nine!

The hand gripping your wine glass is practically shaking in furious anxiety but you do your best to breathe deep and steady it, eyes on the tennis shoes adorning your feet once more, your attire today much more casual than at the Christmas party a couple of days ago when you managed to incite that strange reaction from your best friend.

Eight!

Is this really how you want it to happen? In the dark at Professor Oak's lab with everyone around and your best friend none-the-wiser to your scheme? Be serious!

Seven!

But if you don't find out soon, you'll have to wait a long while to earn another opportunity since Ash is due to ship out to his next region to take on a new Pokemon League within the week.

Six!

And what better opportunity than this? He's right here, right now! Just do it, just do it so you know, so _he _knows! Then nobody will have to run away anymore!

Five!

Unless you're wrong… Unless… Unless you can't read the signs as well as you'd like to believe, being the romantic that you are…

Four!

It's over, you're so stiff from worry and anxiety that you can't bear to make the move you've been wanting to make for the past couple of years. Now you'll never know!

Three!

Your grasp goes lax on the wine glass and it hits the floor. Luckily, it's a cheap plastic imitation so it doesn't shatter, but red wine seeps across the ground, some splattering on yours and Ash's shoes.

You don't care though, and grab Ash's hand in the dark, holding it fiercely in both of yours.

Two!

The time has come, this is your chance! _Do it, for goodness sake!_

One…!

**O**o**O**o**O**

**Notes **- Whew, things are gettin' good. As you may have deduced, Ash's version will extend very slightly passed Misty's, so there will be a bit more going on in the next contribution to this series. Please review!


	4. New Years Eve : Ash

**Disclaimer** - Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants!

**Author** - Warlordess

**Notes** - Sorry for the delay. Here's number two of the New Years Eve Pokeshipping Falliday special. Continuation is dependent on reviews.

**O**o**O**

**Title **- "Momentum"

**Summary** - Ash's PoV. His interpretation of events at Professor Oak's New Years Eve party.

**O**o**O**o**O**

You like to make believe you're cold, but the winter chill is the last thing on your mind right now.

Most of the last week has been spent trying to come to terms with that fire Misty's outfit cast aflare in your gut, in your heart, at the Christmas party... but it's hard to do when she's clearly angry at you. For some reason you can't ever understand, she's spent the past few days avoiding any potential interaction between you both.

You think that it should be unacceptable, it's the holidays, but those excuses don't give you the courage to confront her about it.

Massaging tenderly at the place over your heart, you wait for the ache to subside but it's intent on sticking around this time.

_This time_ as opposed to the few times you'd previously felt it, such as the night of the Maiden's Peak festival dance, the Princess Day contest, the mermaid play, that time she ran off in pursuit of the giant Tentacruel intent on destroying Port Vista, when you and your friends met Danny (and Rudy subsequently), when she treated you after you'd been hit with stun spore, and a hundred other instances up through now. Oh, yes, there were definitely more, but you always managed to evade that particular emotion of awe and… whatever else it was… and temporarily put it to rest until next time it came looking for a fight.

But you've only felt it a _few _times; _right_...

You wish you could definitely say that there was _no more_ to it than simple awe, the state of being impressed by someone you didn't know was capable of impressing you, but there was. Even _you're _not _that _dense… right?

And by, least of all, her _appearance_. There have always been cute girls but they never made you feel the way you do when you look at _her_.

Ten!

Of course, you'd love to dwell on it more but the countdown is starting. And you can't help but snicker at the excuse this gives you to drop the infernal subject for the time being. Thank goodness.

… Seven!

Misty was able to sneak up on you and plant herself to your left but you've been able to pretend she isn't even there thanks to the darkness shrouding the Pokemon lab. Now everyone's attention is on the ball dropping at Indigo Plateau and your surroundings are so black that you can hardly make out her silhouette framed by the moonlight and strings of Christmas lights framing the windows on the wall to your far right.

… Four!

Crap! You were so focused on _not _focusing on Misty that you somehow managed to focus on her anyway and now the countdown is basically over and done with and - wait, are those her hands lacing fingers in yours? When did _that _happen? Why is your heart crackling? Why is your head buzzing? Why are you looking at her, eyes wide like a Stantler caught in the headlights?

… Two!

Wait! That's exactly what you can do! That's what you should do, keep leaning in, that's fine, you have a plan now, and then just ask what she thinks she's doing…

… One!

The heart palpitations are back and worse than ever. Misty holding your hand was bad enough but now you can feel the oddly rhythmic puffs of her breath on your face, slightly bittersweet with the scent of alcohol but not so much so that it puts you off. She seems to be saying something but you've gone completely deaf and dumb again in response to her, just like a few nights ago.

She's ... She's really close! She's too close! Why is she so intent on closing the previously comfortable and perfectly acceptable distance between the two of you?

But any other question that may have been forming in your mind or on your tongue is abruptly halted when those sickening hormones rear their ugly head once more and your lips descend on hers. The awkward positioning settles when she indeed removes her hands from your own and instead goes on to cup your face, holding you to her and withdrawing from you every ounce of your sanity.

You wonder what's happening. You wonder why Misty seems to be enjoying it. You wonder why _you_ have yet to come to your senses and break away from her. You can't help but block out the fact that you're technically the one who _instigated _the motion. You wonder why, for all your lack of oxygen and cognizant thinking, you don't necessarily _mind _the strange twist the night has taken.

Finally, you wonder why it's taken you so _very _long to do this.

"Happy new year!" everyone around you cheers aloud as your mind races and pounds in exacerbation, your nerves turning electric in the dark.

They're completely unaware of what's happening... Not that you're much better off.

**O**o**O**o**O**

**Notes **- Sorry again for the late post, everyone. I'd wanted to put this up on New Years Eve or Day but I was so caught up in old work, new work, and sleep that I completely forgot about it. This is the last chapter that I had prepared before posting but I should be able to put together the New Years Day two-parter before the end of January. This actually works better because New Years Day and Valentines Day were my next two holidays that I planned on writing about, but there's that whole month-and-a-half time-gap between them and I've been trying to post the chapters pretty close to their related holiday. In this case, there won't be much of a wait if I use the rest of January to type up NYD...

Anyway, thanks for reading!


	5. New Years Day : Ash

**Disclaimer **-Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants them to!

**Author **- Warlordess

**Notes **- Sorry for the delay. I started a second job as of early January and have fallen behind in basically every other way related to my existence. I eat once a day, get maybe four hours of sleep (and that's if I'm really lucky), etc. So of course writing also falls down on the list of priorities as well. Anyway, here's this!

**O**o**O**

**Title **- "What Goes Up"

**Summary **- Ash's PoV. What happens right after the kiss he and Misty shared at the New Years party? Part one of two for New Years Day.

**O**o**O**o**O**

The surrounding lights filter in just as Misty falls back.

Within seconds, the chatter of the new year flares up. Within seconds, your mom closes in, in pursuit of the fallen glass of wine that had fallen to the ground a few minutes ago. Within seconds, your relationship with your best friend changes forever. Within seconds, you are suddenly very unsure as to whether or not she's your best friend at all anymore.

What just happened? Why did you do that? Why did Misty reciprocate? What does it all mean?

Your mother tells the both of you to head back to the house and change, leave your stained clothes in the laundry basket so she can come home and work her magic on them in a little while, prevent them from being permanently ruined.

Your heart leaps oddly, desperately into your throat at the thought that this can't be swept under the rug over the course of time as you both enjoy the New Years party if you spend more time alone together. For some reason, sweeping it all under the rug is the _only _thing you want done in this case.

The bitter chill of January first claws at you as you exit Professor Oak's laboratory, Misty leading the way a few steps ahead, both of your gazes fixed on the path and your eventual destination. The silence is awkward but dulled slightly due to the distraction of the high winds whistling and rustling up the nearby foliage.

"So..." But everything flips upside down when Misty stops so suddenly that you almost crash right into her from behind, her spinning around and coming face-to-face with you for the first time since before you'd left the lab. You're very close very quickly to the same lips you made contact with only a few minutes ago and your nerves curdle and shrivel up along the length of your spine as you take in the sight of them once more, an urgent and unfamiliar longing doing its utmost to take control.

"So...?"

"Let's talk about it."

The words leave your mouth before you can swallow them back down in abject obedience.

"I don't think we should."

One of the redhead's eyebrows creases downward, revealing her obvious distaste for such a reply, but she doesn't act on such things just yet.

Instead she pretends to humor you.

"Okay, Ash, and why is that?"

"Well, uh, it's more like…" you falter, fumbling to try and find the right words, the most delicate way to explain that you have no idea about anything that just happened and you simply want it all to just _go away_, which is usually your last response to facing an unfavorable situation, but still.

"It's more like I just… don't think there's anything to talk about."

You regret those words as soon as they escape the safe confines of your consciousness and float out into the open air. Misty's resistance cracks and crumbles almost immediately and you brace yourself for her onslaught, her temper, her anger.

"A - are you _serious_, Mr. Pokemon Master?" she asks in dumbfounded incredulousness, mouth gaping open for a moment after before she decides to continue onward, "You're telling me that you don't think what just happened back there merits - I don't know - a little conversation? Some explanation? Some dialogue? Do you even _know _what happened? Do you care at all?"

You're prepared for most of her accusatory inquiries, even prepared for the fire in her eyes, for her clenched fists, the threat of impending violence. This is the kind of thing a silly romantic like Misty would take pretty seriously, right?

"Well, it just… is what it is, right? What's it really matter?"

You're prepared for quite a lot, you really are, but the last thing you're ready for is what comes next.

"You're such an idiot, Ash Ketchum! I don't even know why I'm surprised really! I mean, you don't think about this stuff at all! You don't think about your actions, your choices, at all!" She pauses here, possibly to catch her breath, possibly for the mere effect as the guilt slowly starts blanketing you.

You can't think of anything to say even as the fire in her eyes slowly dies away and her grim expression grows ever darker.

"Well then… I think that's it."

Your confusion is probably evident on your face but she doesn't give you the opportunity to respond. Multitudes of questions course through you in the two-second timespan it takes for her to clarify what she means by her prior statement.

What does she mean, _that's it_? What's it? Why is she stopping now? Has she really already said everything there is to say? Why does it feel like you got off pretty easy overall? Why do you fear that the worst is yet to come? Is she actually at peace with your disinterested responses?

"Even now, you don't think about it. You don't even try," she continues in a calm, neutral tone. "This isn't your type of thing so you do whatever you want and ignore the rest. Then why should I bother trying either… right?"

What she says next filters through your tunnel hearing so strictly that you can barely make it out. All you know is that some part of you cracks and shatters, crumbling away with the intense winds circling you… a part of you that you didn't know was laying in wait for these words to ever be spoken.

**O**o**O**o**O**

**Notes** - So there's that. I'm going to turn around and try to type up Misty's rebuttal chapter right away (I don't know if it'll work, but I'm gonna try). Don't worry. You'll find out what her final words to Ash were… though you may not like them. ^^ ;;


	6. New Years Day : Misty

**Disclaimer **-Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants them to!

**Author **- Warlordess

**Notes **- Sorry for the delay. I started a second job as of early January and have fallen behind in basically every other way related to my existence. I eat once a day, get maybe four hours of sleep (and that's if I'm really lucky), etc. So of course writing also falls down on the list of priorities as well. Anyway, here's this!

**O**o**O**

**Title **- "Goes Up In Flames"

**Summary **- Misty's PoV. The aftermath of her fallout with Ash on New Years Day.

**O**o**O**o**O**

Almost three weeks - well, nineteen days, sixteen hours, and thirty-two minutes - after your fight with your best friend, your phone alerts you to a new email. And, though you're quite close to ignoring it until morning so that you can hop straight into bed and get some well-deserved sleep after the grueling day you've had running the Cerulean Gym, there's a small part of you that's too curious to do so.

Unfortunately you recognize the name and email address half-a-second too late and click to open it… to be greeted by a familiar sight of Ash Ketchum giving you the same weekly update he's given you for the past few years since you both had separated from each other.

Your eyes scroll through the text, noting some typos (but he's gotten _much _better than when he first started sending these), mentally deciphering what he may have meant, and taking in the few things that have happened since you returned home and left him behind.

He's just arrived in another region and has met with the resident Pokemon Professor over there. He's four days away from the town in which he'll be earning his first badge - you scoff at his confidence here, roll your eyes, move on - he and Pikachu are pumped to meet all of the new Pokemon and trainers and he can't wait to catch his first and-

-You stop there, the alarm bells going off in your head to remind you that you're _supposed _to be angry at him; that you _are _angry at him.

You immediately press the lock button on your phone, place it haphazardly on top of your nightstand, roll over, and force yourself to finally fall asleep.

**O**o**O**

Thirteen days, two hours, and eleven minutes after that same fight, you re-enter the gym for the first time since you'd made your holiday visit to Pallet Town. There's a small part of you that regrets the way you left things, even if the way you left things was instigated by your best friend's ignorance, but there's a much larger part of you that is merely happy to return to your home, your safe haven, your saving grace and to be away from the fear and frustration of _what could have been_ if only you'd had the stones to force Ash Ketchum into a long overdue conversation.

Of course, your attention shifts once more when a random aspiring Indigo League participant walks around you with a supportive friend at his side, claiming aloud to everyone around (only you at the moment, thank goodness) that he can't believe he was just _given_ his latest badge.

You march purposefully into the main arena and are greeted with three giggling older siblings who tell you that they finally repaired the loose screws in the audience seating like you'd been asking them to do for the past couple of months.

You sigh at their ecstatic behavior. Of _course _they'd still think it was alright to pay passing trainers for favors with badges… Well, you were going to have words with them about it sooner or later. Sooner was probably the better option anyway.

**O**o**O**

Ten days, six hours, and forty-seven minutes after that fight, you're psyching yourself up to make the trek through Mount Moon all by your lonesome. It wasn't like the place was particularly scary - hey, at least it wasn't a bug-infested forest - but there were always risks in traveling alone. Well, riskier risks than if you happened to be traveling with friends like Ash did.

Stupid Ash; doing whatever he can to avoid a serious discussion about the relationship between the two of you. Stupid Ash; always thinking about the next Pokemon, the next league, the next chance he would have to try and become the Pokemon Master. Stupid Ash; he never even tried to rectify his most recent conversational mistake with you before you left Pallet Town behind and started walking back home.

Stupid, _stupid _Ash… but even stupider _you_, who had such high hopes after what had transpired between the two of you a week and a half ago. Of course, you'd fall flat on your face after those expectations.

After all, it was _Ash_ you were considering here.

**O**o**O**

Three days, nine hours, and seventeen minutes after the worst night you can remember having in a long time, you're packing up your things to prepare yourself for the long, lonely walk home.

The hurt is still fresh, like an open wound bleeding out, the frustration and negativity at your fallout with your best friend pulsing erratically in your own head as if trying to convince you to do something to relieve it.

But you're done with all that. Jumping through hoops, playing gymnastics. All of that ducking, diving, twirling - none of it has ever been your style. Tiptoeing and dancing around has held you back from doing lots of things you've wanted to do over the years… like _moving on_ for example.

You gave Ash Ketchum the option to talk about it and he shot you down. You practically _begged _him to tell you what it all meant - if anything - and he said that it _just was what it was_. There was no deep secret, no big motivator in his actions.

One brave tear has the audacity to try collecting at the corner of your eyelid before it dribbles down your cheek and towards your chin, but you ruthlessly wipe it away with the back of your hand before it can go the distance and then breathe deeply inward, gazing up at the white ceiling of the guest bedroom you'd been using for the past few days.

Everything makes you _angry_. Everything makes you _hurt_. But now, more than all of that, everything simply makes you _tired_.

**O**o**O**

It's nineteen seconds after your most recent statement - _"Then why should I bother trying either… right?" _- and Ash Ketchum is staring blankly back at you as if unable to comprehend the meaning behind those words. Perhaps he's so dense that he never even noticed the effort you were making. To stay close, to get closer, to stay connected, to create new threads of connection between the two of you.

Your heart is breaking pathetically within you but you offer him a bittersweet smile anyway. You honestly should have known better than to expect any differently. This is _Ash-freaking-Ketchum _after all. You've never known anyone as well as you've known him.

This is why you don't push him any further into making a decision one way or another. Clearly he's not invested. Clearly he still doesn't understand. Clearly, quite clearly, this is still the kind of thing that doesn't matter much to him. Love is fine, yeah, sure, but _Pokemon training _is still the most important thing in the world. As for love… he can't even be bothered to give it the time of day.

He hasn't changed since he was ten years old, since the day you met him. This is why you know the decision can't be left up to him… so you decide to make it yourself and save you both the trouble.

"We're done here, Ash…" You turn your back and continue the six minute walk back to the Ketchum home. The last thing you want is one of your other friends to find you standing in the middle of the path between the Oak lab and your next destination.

You mourn the death of all that time you spent _waiting _and _hoping _when you should have known better.

"I'm done."

**O**o**O**o**O**

**Notes **- Yay! I was able to update twice in a week! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! The first part of the Valentines Day two-shot (in Misty's PoV) is at least half finished and should be posted sometime next week as long as I receive enough feedback.


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